Sources: It's Gillibrand.

At least one Senate candidate was called by the governor and told that Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand will replace Hillary Clinton, according to a source with knowledge of the conversation.

Other sources confirmed Paterson’s pick. For more, read our story on timesunion.com.

Full TU story is copy and pasted after the jump.

Senate annoucement Friday: signs point to Gillibrand

By Leigh Hornbeck

Here’s what we know for sure: Gov. David Paterson will finally reveal his choice to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate at noon today.

While there’s nothing official about who will be standing next to him at the Capitol, strong signs are pointing in the direction of U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport.

While Gillibrand’s spokeswoman denied any contact between Gillibrand and Paterson throughout the day Thursday, a highly placed Democratic source said that members of New York’s Congressional delegation were briefed Thursday afternoon that Gillibrand will be named.

Another highly placed source said that at least one rejected Senate candidate received a call from Paterson, who informed him that Gillibrand was the choice.

The guest list for today’s announcement includes a number of people close to the second-term congresswoman: Congressman Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, and Susan Savage, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature, are expected to be there. Leaders from across Gillibrand’s Congressional district said they received invitations from the governor’s office to be on hand as well.
Tom Wade, the Democratic Chairman in Rensselaer County, said the governor’s people did not tell him who the governor has chosen, “but I can read between the lines.”

Warren County chairman Bill Montfort was also invited through a series of phone calls from the governor’s office setting and resetting the date of Paterson’s announcement. It was an unusual invitation, and it made Montfort wonder if the governor was bringing people together from Gillibrand’s district.

Saratoga Chairman Larry Bulman was not so sure. Bulman sent an e-mail to the Democratic Committee calling for a meeting next week to discuss Paterson’s senate selection and noted “the need to prepare ourselves for the potential of a special election in 60 days for the 20th Congressional district seat.”
But Bulman said other than the meeting at noon today, everything else was speculation.
Whatever the case, all three men lavished praise on Gillibrand.

“If she does for the state what she’s done for congressional district, the state will be in good shape,” said Montfort. “I can’t think of an elected official I’ve been able to have more access to than her, whether it’s calling her on her cell in Washington or at home on the weekend.”

Bulman said if Gillibrand is chosen, she will have no trouble running a statewide race, despite the fact she is unknown beyond the 20th Congressional district.

“She’s a star. She will build her brand across the state just as quickly as she did in the district,” Bulman said.

The selection ends a tumultuous two-month process that turn strange Wednesday evening with the news that Caroline Kennedy, long considered Paterson’s top choice, was dropping out for personal reasons.

Other possibilities include Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Steve Israel, as well as Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and a handful of others.

The selection of Gillibrand would help Paterson’s unstated goal of preparing for his 2010 gubernatorial run by putting an upstate woman on the ballot with him. Gillibrand is also a proven fundraiser who would head into two back-to-back election cycles — in a 2010 special election and the regular Senate contest in 2012 — with a well-stocked war chest.

Three years ago, Gillibrand was an unknown corporate lawyer seen as little more than a mosquito that well-connected Rep. John Sweeney would wave away.

Since defeating Sweeney and taking a long-held GOP seat, in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats 42 percent to 26 percent — Gillibrand soundly defeated challenger Republican Alexander “Sandy” Treadwell, who put more than $6 million into the race. Gillibrand’s lopsided win, with more than 62 percent of the vote, combined with her fundraising prowess, caught the attention of the Democratic party.

Gillibrand raised more than $4.5 million during the last election cycle.

One possible objection to Gillibrand’s selection was the potential difficulty of keeping her Congressional seat in Democratic hands if she abandoned it. But with New York likely to lose one seat following the 2010 census, it’s likely that Democratic control of the state Senate and Assembly would allow the party to surgically carve up the 20th District.

Its Republican majority — a product of the district’s bizarre shape and narrow reach from north of Poughkeepsie to Lake Placid — could be absorbed by the adjoining Congressional districts in a way that would keep incumbents safe.

Leigh Hornbeck can be reached at 454-5352 or by e-mail at lhornbeck@timesunion.com. Irene Jay Liu and James M. Odato contributed to this story.